1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a dispensing beverage urn and more particularly to a dispensing beverage urn of the type having a dispensing faucet adjacent a bottom and a top for direct receipt of freshly brewed beverage.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Dispensing beverage urns, or dispensing urns, of the type having an inlet opening at the top into which beverage can be poured and a faucet at the bottom for dispensing the beverage into other smaller dispensers, such as insulated, pouring carafes, or directly into drinking cups are well known. Such dispensing urns generally have a cylindrical body with a double-walled construction. Often solid thermal insulating material is contained between the walls to reduce heat transfer though the walls.
The inlet opening is part of a funnel-like inlet, or other inlet, that is adapted to be in correct position adjacent to and beneath a drain-hole of a brew basket during the brewing process to receive freshly brewed beverage, such as freshly brewed coffee. After the dispenser removed from the brewer location to a dispensing location the inlet is closed to reduce heat loss.
The inventor has determined that there are one or more disadvantages or problems associated with the known dispensing urn described above. If the urn is immersed during cleaning, the solid insulation contained between the walls of the sides of the dispensing urn can become wet and thereby loose its heat insulating properties. On the other hand, if there is no insulation placed between the walls, the insulating capabilities of the urn are reduced. Insulating properties can be improved by providing a narrower a neck at the top and carry the body insulation along a shoulder that meets the neck to reduce heat loss through the top, but this reduces the top opening size and hinders visual access and manual access to the interior of the dispensing urn for purposes of cleaning.
In addition, in all known dispensing urns for coffee, the quality of the coffee in terms of taste, aroma, etc, deteriorates over time. The inventors believe that this is due in part to contact of the surface of the coffee within the urn with the hot air within the urn and located above the surface. More specifically, the inventors believed that the rate of deterioration is directly related to the ratio of the surface area of the coffee in contact with air to the volume of coffee contained within the urn. There is nothing in known beverage dispensing urns to reduce the rate of deterioration of coffee due to contact with the oxygen in the air.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispensing urn and method that overcomes the problems and disadvantages of the known beverage dispensing urns noted above.
This is achieved in part by providing a beverage dispensing urn having a hollow body, a top with an inlet for receipt of beverage, a bottom, a base for supporting the bottom above a support surface, and a dispensing faucet adjacent the bottom for dispensing beverage from the bottom, with a movable surface-covering assembly having a movable surface-covering member with a perimeter slightly smaller than that of an interior surface and which conforms to a cross sectional shape of the interior surface, and means for mounting the movable surface covering member within the body and on top of a top surface of the beverage in the container to insulate the top surface from portions of the body above the top surface of the beverage.
Preferably, the surface-covering member has an average density less than that of the beverage and floats on top of the top surface of the beverage, and is made of a stainless metal envelope surrounding a hollow core empty except for air, or evacuated, or filled with solid insulating material for enhancing insulation properties.
In one embodiment, the mounting means includes a vertical guide member located within the body, and the movable surface-covering member includes an opening for snug sliding receipt of the vertical guide member. Preferably, the guide member is hollow to convey beverage received at the inlet through and past the movable surface-covering member to a portion of the body beneath the movable surface-covering member, and is mounted to the top and extends downwardly from the top to a distal end adjacent the bottom.
Alternatively, the beverage passes through an opening in the relatively rigid movable insulating member without hollow guide member and the relative dimensions that enables close engagement of sides of the relatively rigid movable insulating member with the interior surface provides the only guide as the movable insulating member floats on top of the beverage. Alternatively, there is no opening in the surface-covering member and no down tube and all beverage passes through the gap between the interior surface of the body and the surface-covering member.
Because of the added insulation added by means of the movable surface-covering member good insulation properties are obtainable even when the body of the dispensing urn uses only an evacuated double wall construction for insulation without any solid insulation being interposed between the walls and a neck-less construction in which the top opening that is exposed when the top cover is removed is substantially coextensive with the bottom for easy access to the interior of the hollow body for cleaning and for installation and removal of the surface-covering assembly.
Thus, the object is also achieved by providing in a beverage dispensing urn having a hollow body, a top with an inlet for receipt of beverage, a bottom, a base for supporting the bottom above a support surface, and a dispensing faucet adjacent the bottom for dispensing beverage from the bottom, a method of reducing heat transfer of the beverage by performing the steps of insulating the body, and insulating a top surface of the beverage with a movably mounted insulating member.
Preferably, the step of insulating a top surface of the beverage with a movably mounted insulating member includes the step of floating the movably mounted insulating member on top of the beverage within the body, and the step of passing beverage received at the inlet into a portion of the body beneath the movably mounted insulating member includes the step of passing the beverage though an opening in the movable insulating member. Preferably, the beverage is passed from the inlet through an elongate tube that slideably extends through the opening in the movably mounted insulating member. The step of insulating the top surface of the beverage includes the step of insulating the top surface with a stainless metal insulator having a double wall construction and a core that enables the metal insulator to float on the top of the surface.
The object of the invention is also achieved in part by providing in a beverage dispensing urn having a hollow body, a top with an inlet for receipt of beverage, a bottom, a base for supporting the bottom, and a dispensing faucet adjacent for dispensing beverage from the bottom, a method of protecting beverage within the hollow body against contact with air by performing the steps of covering a top surface of the beverage contained within the hollow body with an air impermeable surface-covering member in contact with the top surface and moving the air impermeable member during movement of the level of the top surface of the beverage to maintain the air impermeable, surface-covering member in contact with the surface during said movement of the level.
Preferably, the surface-covering member moves with the level of the top surface of the beverage by floating on the top surface and the surface covering member also insulates the top surface of the beverage from portions of the hollow body located above the surface-covering member. In order to optimized durability and easy cleaning the surface-covering member is preferably a stainless metal envelope surrounding an insulating core.
The additional insulation provided by the surface-covering member enables the use of a top of the hollow body that is substantially coextensive with the hollow body, and the method includes the steps of removing the top from the hollow body to expose an opening at the top of the hollow body that is substantially coextensive with the bottom, and installing and removing the surface-covering body through the open top.
Preferably, the step of passing beverage into the hollow body is performed by passing the beverage through a tube extending from the inlet and through the surface-covering member to an outlet end located beneath the surface-covering member. The tube extends through an opening in the surface-covering member, and the covering member slides along the tube while within the opening during movement of the surface-covering member. Alternatively, the beverage is passed through a gap between the insulating member and the side of the hollow body.